Mingachevir, February 27, AZERTAC

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva have attended the opening of the two yarn production plants owned by “Mingachevir Tekstil” LLC in Mingachevir Industrial Park.

Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev and project manager Mehriban Akhundova informed the head of state and his wife that the National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support of the Ministry of Economy allocated a 10 million manat soft loan to create plants with a total cost of 144 million manat. The state-of-the-art plants are supplied with equipment of leading companies of Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Japan.

The plants will have an annual production of 20,000 tons of yarn, including 10,000 tons made through Ring method and 10,000 tons through Open End method.

The head of state and his wife posed for photographs together with employees.

President Ilham Aliyev then launched the open end method yarn production plant.

President Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva toured a canteen.

After familiarizing themselves with the new plants, the head of state and his wife met with employees and representatives of local public. The President made a speech at the meeting.

Speech by President Ilham Aliyev

- It is a very significant day in the life of the city of Mingachevir today. We are celebrating the opening of the Mingachevir Industrial Park. I sincerely congratulate you on this wonderful event and wish you further success.

I remember laying the foundation of the Mingachevir industrial park on this territory in September 2016. There was nothing here at the time - there was just a vacant lot. I remember a presentation made at the time, indicating that there were plans to set up several spinning mills and other factories here in the near future. Of course, it is a very large project. It will greatly enhance the industrial potential of Mingachevir and Azerbaijan as a whole.

I am glad that all these promises have been met. At present, the first two factories of the Mingachevir industrial park are about to open. This is an excellent manifestation of the partnership between the state and the private sector. The government is doing everything possible for private sector development. Entrepreneurs are provided with low-interest loans and method guidelines. A lot is being done to create jobs. At the same time, by opening industrial parks, the government creates conditions for the private sector. If the state hadn’t taken on this function, then, of course, it would not be so easy for the private sector, for the entrepreneurs to establish such giant factories. The private sector, for its part, uses the concessional loans provided by the state and, at the same time, invests its own funds in such fine factories. This is the goal pursued by the industrial zones, industrial estates and industrial parks created in Azerbaijan in recent years. I said in previous years too that Mingachevir should become one of the powerful industrial centers of our country, and we are already seeing that

There are industrial quarters and estates in several cities of our country. The biggest of these is the Sumgayit Chemical Industry Park. The volume of investment there is 2.7 billion dollars. Industrial estates are and will be created in Neftchala, Hajigabul, Sabirabad, Masalli and other cities, including Mingachevir.

These factories employ 700-750 people, and the vast majority of those working here are women. This is wonderful because we provide women with jobs. In general, these factories will play a huge role in eliminating unemployment in Mingachevir. A total of 700-750 people will be provided with permanent jobs here. A lot has been invested here - investments amount to 140 million manats. This shows that Azerbaijan is a very favorable country for investment. Over the past 15 years, the country's economy has received investment of more than 230 billion dollars. Our main goal today is to invest more in the non-oil sector.

Currently, there are six spinning mills operating in Azerbaijan. Two more factories are being commissioned today. Thus, the number increases to eight, and the production capacity of six factories is 24 million tons of yarn. These two factories will produce 20 tons of yarn. So these modern factories will produce yarn practically at the same level as the factories put into operation in previous years. They will address the domestic demand and serve exports.

Our main goal today is to increase non-oil exports, and a great deal is being done in this direction. At the same time, in the example of this factory we see comprehensive development of our country because it is a large industrial center, an industrial enterprise. At the same time, the main raw material here is local cotton fiber. The rapid development of cotton-growing in recent years has contributed to the emergence of these factories. If we had not tackled the revival of cotton-growing two years ago, these factories would not have been established. The importation of fiber from abroad and turning it into yarn here could have been a very costly initiative. Therefore, cotton production in Azerbaijan has increased from 35,000 to 207,000 tons in the past two years. I do hope that there are plans to collect even more cotton this year. The bulk of cotton fiber will be processed in Azerbaijan. This will generate added value and jobs, so we will be able to provide the domestic market and export not fiber but yarn, and then finished products, textiles and fabrics.

The rapid development of agriculture is facilitated by tremendous state support. Equipment is purchased, irrigation is carried out, fertilizer, fuel and subsidies are provided on preferential terms. The state also supports the development of cotton-growing and the creation of industrial enterprises. The private sector is also very active in this. Therefore, to achieve all-round development of our country, this key direction will definitely develop. Industrial and agricultural production - we see a union of these two important sectors in Mingachevir. As I said, Mingachevir is about to become one of the most powerful industrial centers of Azerbaijan.

This is only a beginning. I am sure that the commissioning of these two factories will give an impetus to the creation of new factories - such plans are already in place. The presentation held in 2016 mentioned plans to create new factories. I am quite confident that thousands of new jobs will be created in Mingachevir in the near future.

In general, great attention is being paid to the development of Mingachevir. This is my seventh visit to Mingachevir as President. In previous years, I also took part in many opening ceremonies. A lot is being done in the social sphere in Mingachevir: the central city hospital for 430 beds has been completely refurbished, the Kura Olympic rowing base has been reconstructed, public buildings, culture centers, chess and youth centers have been commissioned. The cultural life of Mingachevir is also quite extensive. Work in this direction is also ongoing. Infrastructure projects have been implemented. There is complete provision of electricity, gasification is at 97 per cent, drinking water is already supplied to Mingachevir, and the official launch of a drinking water project has been held today. This is also a major project. Drinking water and sewage projects required about 300 million manats of investment. The problem of drinking water has already been resolved. In previous years, drinking water was supplied to 50 per cent of the population, but now it has reached 100 per cent, and this drinking water meets the standards of the World Health Organization.

The Mingachevir hydroelectric power station was also re-opened after major overhaul today. Its capacity has been increased from 300 to 420 megawatts. The "ASAN Həyat" complex is opening in Mingachevir today - this is yet another gift to the residents of the city. The roads are landscaped. In other words, Mingachevir is comprehensively developing. Additional measures will be taken for the further development of Mingachevir, so that the city could develop even faster.

At the same time, Mingachevir has become a popular travel destination in recent years. New hotels are opening here, and the number of tourists is growing. Tourism will develop comprehensively. Of course, Mingechevir should primarily develop as a modern industrial center, a center of light industry. We will do everything necessary for the development of the city. The opening of these two factories today proves that we put our money where our mouth is. We live up to our promises.

I congratulate you on this wonderful event and wish you success. Thank you.

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Employee Huseyn Hashimov thanked the head of state for supporting construction of new plants and his attention to the development of the city.